Optical discs, such as CDs and DVDs, have become immensely popular for the storage of data, music, pictures, videos, etc. A growing number of people are creating or “burning” their own discs. While commercially-produced discs often have full-color graphics printed on a non-data surface of a disc, home-produced discs or low-budget commercial discs are often labeled by hand as the equipment to transfer images to the discs can be quite expensive. Common solutions include writing on the disc by hand or printing a label and then applying the label to the disc. In recent years, the significant increase in the use of optical discs for data storage by consumers has increased the demand to provide customized labels to reflect the content of the optical disc.
Hewlett-Packard Company, Palo Alto, Calif., USA has disclosed LightScribe Direct Disc Labeling technology for printing images directly onto media and other surfaces. In the case of optical discs, this technology can be used to print images directly onto the discs using the same drive that is used to burn the data onto the discs. After burning the data onto the disc, the user removes the disc and reinserts it into the drive upside down to use the drive's laser to selectively illuminate portions of the disc. The laser activates a chemical reaction in the disc's coating to produce a color change. Currently, this technology delivers monochromatic images.
For the reasons stated above, and for other reasons stated below that will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading and understanding the present specification, there is a need in the art for alternative methods and apparatus for providing multi-color imaging suitable for use on discs.